A World War II-era munition, the German Traktor Rocket (GTR) measures 6.2 inches in diameter, 40 inches long and weighs up to 78 pounds. The Germans named the rockets Traktor, because the motor resides in the front of the device, allowing it to be pulled rather than pushed like most rockets.
At the end of World War II, the United States captured numerous German weapons, including chemical weapons. Captured GTRs were sent to Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas (PBA), for analysis.
In the early 1980s, the Army housed the rockets in overpack containers inside storage igloos, where they awaited assessment and treatment using Recovered Chemical Materiel Directorate’s (RCMD) proven technologies.
The Pine Bluff Munitions Assessment System began assessing GTRs in early 2006, using non-intrusive X-ray and gamma-ray technology to detect the presence of a liquid fill and identify the contents. Operators discovered the chemical fills of the rockets included nitrogen mustard and several arsenic-based fills.
RCMD’s Pine Bluff Explosive Destruction System (PBEDS) destroyed the GTRs. PBEDS neutralized the rockets within its stainless-steel vessel, containing any blast, vapor and fragments while protecting the safety of workers and the environment. This first PBEDS campaign, from 2006-2010, destroyed more than 1200 chemical warfare items.
Using historical records on chemical weapons disposal, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) workers have recovered more GTRs buried at PBA, an internationally-accepted means of disposal through the mid-20th century. Four rockets were destroyed during a second PBEDS campaign, which concluded May 2019. PBEDS will restart destruction operations to treat GTRs and other chemical warfare items as required during USACE’s ongoing environmental remediation efforts at PBA.